I Have Many Skills
by MusicLover011
Summary: *Slightly AU* Gabrielle has convinced the most feared warlord of all, Xena, to help her village. Over time though, Gabrielle and Xena get closer as they learn more about each other. Will Xena let Gabrielle in enough to tell her of her dark past that lead to her being a warlord? Can Gabrielle's natural light be enough to change Xena for good?
1. Chapter 1

_**So, I recently started watching Xena: Warrior Princess and of course, I fell in love with the show. Especially Xena and Gabrielle. So, I've decided to do a story about them, but it's going to be slightly AU. Same universe, but how they meet up is different and some events in Xena's life are different as well. Enjoy!**_

"LET GO OF ME!" I yell at the armored men as they grab at me with their dirty hands.

"Awww, settle down blondie, we're just trying to have a little fun before we bring you to Xena, that's all. I promise it won't hurt… Unless you make it hurt." One solider said as he started fumbling with his belt.

Two men were holding me as I saw the rest of the men just started there, laughing and whistling. I closed my eyes, refusing to cry or scream anymore for these pathetic excuses of men. Just then, I heard one of them scream out. Opening my eyes, I see him lying on the ground, holding his hand in agony when she jumps in front of me.

Just from her stance, I know who she is. She's Xena, Warrior Princess. The most feared warlord across the land- And just the person I needed to see.

The other men let go of me and quickly stumbled away as Xena gave them a death stare. She drew her sword as she held it to the neck of the man who had his pants down. "Get up." Is all Xena said. Slowly he rose to his feet, her sword never leaving his neck. I saw in horror that he held his injured, bloodied hand again chest. "You make me sick." Was all Xena said before she delivered a death blow to his neck.

As she wiped the blood of her sword, she walked around the camp. "Let that be another reminder to not cross me. In case you needed another one. Now get back to your duties!" she crossed over to me and looked down, no emotions on her face as she uttered the simple command, "Get up and follow me".

I followed her into her tent, trying to get my shaking my under control. "_Maybe this wasn't my best idea… But I had to try…_" I think as my eyes follow her to her chair in the tent.

"You must be either very brave or very foolish for entering my camp. What is your name and why are you here?" she questioned, her piercing light blue eyes never leaving my face. I shift my feet and sigh. I cannot let myself be psyched out now.

"I am Gabrielle and I'm here on behalf of the village of Potedia."

"That still doesn't explain why you're here. I sent that message as a warning, not a peace offering" Xena coolly stated, her eyes still not leaving my face. It was enough to unsettle a person. My resolve should be wavered, but if anything, her eyes intrigue me.

"I know. My village does not know I'm here. I came to try and convince you to move on. Leave our village be." I barely finished the sentence before she started laughing a very cold and menacing laugh. The laugh quickly subsided as her eyes returned to my face again.

"I have to admit, this is different. Most of the villages plead, or bribe, offer slaves or riches. And you just waltz in here and just simply ask for me to skip over your village. Tell me, Gabrielle, why should I even consider this offer?" Her eyes are mocking me but there's no turning back.

"I know to a hardened warrior like you, we're just another pathetic village that is ripe for the picking. Over the past few years, other warlords have thought that as well. We've been stripped of almost everything. We have no more money, our crops have barely started growing again, and we're starving. Please, we just need a break. We need help. You couldn't have always been like this. You had to have come from a village yourself. You must have experienced some of the same struggles. You can't be completely heartless. Please, just spare us." I can no longer continue my speech as my eyes to water.

I blink away the tears, refusing to cry in front of her. For a moment, her eyes shift, some fleeting emotion crosses those blue eyes before she's back to her hard warrior self.

"The gods have smiled on you today. I will have mercy and spare your village. I'll even do something for you. Call it my one good deed for the next 10 years. I will help your village defeat the warlords that have been using your village." She says as she stands up and starts walking towards me.

"But I- Why? Why help us? Don't get me wrong, my village will be grateful, but I have to know why." I stammer out as she towers over me, amusement in her eyes. "Because your offer intrigued me. Of course, leave it to you to question a warlord." She chuckles as she leaves the tent.

I hear her address her army. I can't even believe my own ears as I hear her tell them to go to some mountain in search of an ancient artifact. As she enters back into the tent, she sees my bewildered expression.

"I don't trust my men in a village, so I sent them on a wild goose chase." That's all she says and she begins preparing her saddle bag.

"How will you defeat warlords without an army?!" I can't help my tone, it doesn't make any sense to me. She turns around and give me another amused look.

"Trust me, I have many skills."

_**I hope you guys like it. I will try to update as soon as possible. Please review or PM to let me know what you think.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Hey there readers. Sorry for the wait. No excuses, just that I suck at updating. I'd like to thank everyone who decided to follow this story and those who wrote a review. By the way, I've decided to change the story from a first person narrative to a third person narrative Enjoy!**_

As they made their way down the road, Gabrielle couldn't help but cast side way glances at Xena. Why had Xena, Warrior Princess, ruthless warlord, agreed to help her village? Was there an ulterior motive? Did she just have a twisted sense of humor and was just going to turn on them when it came right down to it? Gabrielle was pulled out of her thoughts by Xena's voice.

"Why do you keep looking at me?" Xena looked down from Argo as she questioned her, her crystal blue eyes, though hard, had a spark of curiosity in them. Gabrielle could feel a slight rush of blood come to her cheeks as she realized she had been caught staring. Instead of answering, she decided to change the subject. "The village is not much farther now. Just a few more minutes.". Xena stared for a few seconds longer before shaking her head and chuckling. "What?" Gabrielle decided it was her turn for a question. "Nothing, nothing at-"

Xena stopped in mid sentence, suddenly looking up, as if searching for something. Gabrielle looked in the same direction, trying to force her eyes to see what was hidden to her. Before she could even register it, an arrow had stopped just before her face. Xena had caught the arrow and now looked furious and she bellowed out "If you're going to murder someone, at least make sure your aim is correct.". Dropping the arrow and getting off her horse, Xena drew her sword as a group of 6 men appeared. The men held their swords, but loosely, as if they never really handled a sword before. As Xena twirled her sword in hand, Gabrielle recognized one of the men.

"Perdicus?!"

"Gabrielle! Come quickly, we're saving you!" Perdicus motioned for her to move towards them. Xena quickly glanced at Gabrielle, then back to Perdicus.

"Funny, I would have never called an arrow to the face as 'saving someone'." Xena mumbled, her sword still drawn in defense.

Gabrielle quickly walked in between Xena and the group of men from her village. "Put your swords away. Xena has come to help." Gabrielle tried to explain before one of the men, the black smith, pushed her out of the way. "I'm not going to take that chance." he exclaimed before swinging towards Xena. She jumped aside as the man fell flat on his face. She picked him up by the back of the shirt, the fire in her eyes raging as she pushed him back to the rest of the men. As she gives her hand to help Gabrielle up, she speaks.

"What she says is true. Now, you can either take that to heart, or stop me right here. I came to help, but I have no problem getting rid of anyone who stands in my way". The men looked at each other and Perdicus sighed.

"We will not stand in the way. But you're on your own explaining to the village.". They turned and started walking back to the village. "Well, that went well." Xena said while putting her sword back into her sheath. "Just leave the talking to me." Gabrielle sighed. The continued to the village, it buildings coming into sight after a couple of minutes. Gabrielle broke the silence.

"Thanks, by the way. And sorry for how they acted. I hope the rest of the village reacts a bit better."

Xena stops walking and stares at Gabrielle, one eyebrow slightly arched as she gave her a small smile.

"No good deed goes unpunished. But you're welcome.".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Later on that night~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gabrielle hesitated at the doors of the barn. The rest of the village reacted in about the same manner as the men did, until Gabrielle got there attention with a whistle. After quite some time of explaining that she thinks Xena could be trusted, they finally agreed to accept her help, though with a lot of skepticism.

Xena was now staying in her family's barn, being the only place that would board her. Finally she opened the door with her free hand and looked at the sight of Xena hunched over scrolls, writing down what she assumed was an important message.

"It's about time you came in. I thought you'd stay out there all night" Xena stated, her eyes never leaving the scrolls spread before her. "There's no way you knew I was there." Gabrielle exclaimed as she walked to the small table that they had placed outside for the warlord.

She finally looked up and smirked at the blonde before saying "For someone so small, you walk very heavy. You need to work on that." Gabrielle shot her a playful dirty look before the brunette took the tray from her hand and started eating the contents of the bowl.

She sat down and tried to look at the scrolls that still layed out. "I've never seen a warlord who could read, let alone write." Gabrielle thought out loud.

"That's because over half of them are idiots. They get someone else to read their notes for them. All they're concerned about is how to fight and how to count dinars." Xena stated in contempt, before resuming to scarf down the rest of her food.

"What are you writing down?" The bard asked, wanting to reach out and grab the documents. Xena placed her bowl back on the tray on the floor before wiping her mouth.

"I know most of these warlords. And they defiantly know me. Half of them will go running with their tail tucked between their legs if I tell them to back off. So I'm writing them notes that I'll get someone to deliver and that'll make things a lot easier."

Gabrielle looked at Xena for a long time before she spoke what she had been thinking all day. "What did you do? Before all this?"

"Who says I wasn't always like this?"

"You couldn't have been. I don't believe it for a second. You had to have had a life before this. I just want to know what you were like."

Xena's eyes hardened a little before responding with "What does it matter? The past means nothing."

Gabrielle looked down, hesitant as she softly apologized.

The warrior reached out, almost as if to touch Gabrielle's face, but quickly drew her hand back as the blonde looked back up.

"Why do you ask so many questions?"

"I'm a bard. I take it upon myself to try and learn all that I can. Knowledge and detail make for a great story, not just action and adventure. You need to learn the little details to fill everything out."

Xena smiled a friendly smile as she saw the passion over take Gabrielle. "I think you should head back to your house now, before you're family thinks I murdered you."

"You have a odd sense of humor, you know that?"

Xena simply laughed and gave the tray back to Gabby as she stood up. As Gabrielle reached the doors, she heard Xena speak.

"To answer your question, no, I wasn't always like this."

_**Well, that's all for now readers. Next chapter, maybe they'll get to know each other better. Who knows? Follow to find out! And of course, reviews would be awesome**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Hello readers! Not much to say other than enjoy ^_^**_

As Gabrielle rubbed the sleep from her eyes, she could hear the quiet voices of her parents. Sighing, she already knew what they were discussing. The warlord who currently occupied their barn. Her parents were all but happy when Gabrielle said that Xena was going to stay there during her time in the village. Her thoughts drifted to Xena as she got dressed to for the day.

She thought of what the warrior princess had said last night. _"...I wasn't always like this."_. What could have happened to her to drive her to be so dark, so cruel? Ever since she met her, she hasn't seen the brunette do anything very cruel, but everyone knew the stories. Xena, Warrior Princess, destroyer of villages, ruthless killer, and down right evil person. It was if the god of war himself made her for his bidding.

As she slipped on her dress, she suddenly heard her father yelling outside. Rushing out the door and through the house, she could make out what he was saying.

"...I DON'T CARE IF IT WORKS OR NOT, GET THE HELL AWAY FROM MY CROPS!"

As she exited the house, she could finally hear Xena's cool, calm voice.

"I'm just trying to help, if you water the crops that way, it will take them twice as long to grow and from the looks of it, you need the food as quickly as possible."

At this point, Gabrielle's father was red in the face and he threw his hands in the air.

"And how do we know you won't poison our land, or worse? I'm not growing food just so you and your army can just take it away!"

"I came here to help your village in whatever way I can, but if you don't want my help, I'll just go else where."

Xena started walking to the barn as Gabrielle sighed and went after her. When she entered the barn, she saw the warrior start to pack up.

"You can't just leave!"

"And why's that? It seems as if they can handle their own."

Gabrielle started walking towards her back.

"Because you-you promised!"

At that, Xena turned and glared at the blonde, her mouth contorted into a snarl.

"I NEVER promised anything. Saying I would and promising are two very different things."

She turned back to her scrolls, expecting Gabrielle to scamper off. Instead, Gabrielle got furious and turned her back around to face her. The warlord's shock was evident on her face as she began to speak.

"I don't care if you're a warlord or not, you're helping my people because you said you would! You don't scare me, you're not better than any of us, you're just like everyone else. You just expected everyone to just LET you help them?! You're more of a fool then I thought. Think if you were in their shoes. Now put your shit back and lets find someone who will let you help."

Gabrielle let go of Xena's arms and started walking towards the barn doors. The warrior princess couldn't help but smirk and chuckle to herself as she dropped her things and followed after the feisty blonde.

~~~~~~~~~~_That Night_~~~~~~~~~~

As Gabrielle walked to the barn with Xena's food, she thoughts of the events of the day. After the confrontation in the barn, they went to the poorest family in the village and they reluctantly agreed to have Xena use a new technique to help with the crops. Only time will tell if it actually works or not, but the brunette seemed very sure of herself as she helped and explained how to do everything. She just couldn't believe that a warrior like her actually knew how to farm. Before she could even raise her hand to knock, she heard Xena tell her to come in.

Xena was still hunched over her scrolls, still scribbling away at what she assumed were the notes that were going to be sent out. The warlord took the bowl away from her and started chowing down as Gabrielle sat down. Before she could get too lost in her thoughts again, Xena spoke.

"You don't have to seat out here. Especially after this morning."

Gabrielle looked at the brunette, curiosity running rampant. "I don't mind. I figure even someone like you could get lonely every now and then."

A comfortable silence settles as Xena eats and Gabrielle just curiously watches. It is the bard who finally breaks that silence.

"So, how are you going to defeat the warlords who won't run off? Are you going to make the men in the village into a formidable militia?"

"No, nothing like that. Half of the men here are either too old or too weak to fight. Plus, I don't want to force any of your village to fight."

"But what if they want to fight? To help defend our village?"

Xena shook her head, some unknown emotion crossing her eyes before she looks back to the blonde. "I don't want their deaths on my conscience. Your people are too peaceful for any of this fighting. Fighting, it... It takes more away from you than you think. Sometimes, the outcome of war and violence is worse then dying itself."

For a moment, Gabrielle could see pain in those crystal blue eyes before they closed and the brunette looked away. The blonde couldn't help but view her in a different light. Maybe there was more to the warlord then anyone could have ever thought. Something in her made her want to help Xena in anyway possible. Anything to lighten her burden... Maybe...

"Train me to fight."

Xena quickly looked back at her.

"Absolutely not!"

"Why not?"

"Because I can't-"

The warrior princess paused for a moment before sighing and continuing.

"Because you're not cut out for it."

Gabrielle wouldn't take no for an answer though.

"If you don't teach me to fight, I'll figure out some other way to help against them. Maybe I'll even sneak off to their camps and take to them personally."

Xena grimaced and sighed again.

"Fine. But no swords. I'll train you to use a staff, but just so you can defend yourself."

Gabrielle let a small smile cross her lips before asking "Why not swords?"

"The moment you pick up a sword, you become a target. And the moment you kill..."

Gabrielle leaned forward in her seat, waiting for Xena to continue.

"The moment you kill...What?"

"Everything changes. Everything."

They stared at each other for awhile, thoughts running rampant in both their minds before Xena finally hands her bowl back to Gabrielle.

"If you still want to train, we'll start first thing tomorrow after we help the village more. If you're father will let you."

_**I know in the show, she doesn't learn how to use the staff till later on, but I have a solution for that when the time comes. As usual, I'd love for you guys to review and follow and favorite this story. Hope you all enjoyed it!**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Here we are again readers. Please, enjoy!**_

Xena winced as she heard Gabrielle's father's voice all the way outside. From the sounds of it, it didn't sound like things were going well on the bard's end. Maybe it was for the best. No need for her to get herself killed, or worse. Speaking of the bard, she couldn't get her out of her head.

She reminded her of someone. The same someone she swore never to speak of again. And yet... She couldn't help but want to spend more time with the bard. In a way, she looked forward to training her, to getting to maybe know her better. What was the point though? In a few months time, she'll be on her way again, back to doing what she had doomed herself to do. And Gabrielle, well, she'll still be here, she'll still be safe.

The warrior princess knew she should close herself off, not be nice to the bard, just do what she needed to do and leave all emotions behind. She was brought out of her thoughts as she saw Gabrielle walking towards her, red looking eyes, trying to look strong. She decided not to ask the blonde is she was alright, but the she answered her anyway.

"It didn't go very well. But, I finally convinced him to let me help you. There will be a lot of tension in the house for the next few weeks, but it's worth it. So, where do we start?"

Xena couldn't help but admire the woman that stood before her. She should have given her more credit. Xena walked into the barn and came out with a long stick.

"It's not an actually staff, I did what I could last night. This is good enough for now."

She handed it to Gabrielle and the blonde smiled.

"You did this in one night?" Gabrielle asked, awed at the details that went into it. Smooth, dark wood, small designs here and there along the staff, and two green pieces of clothe tied at the end of it. The warlord smirked and leaned her shoulder against the barn as she watched Gabrielle check out her work. Gabrielle looked up from the staff to look into the brunette's eyes.

"You don't sleep do you?" she questioned, half jokingly. Xena shrugged and grinned. "Come on, let's go help people. I still need to find someone to deliver these letters and we'll see what we need to start the market back up."

"What about my training? And how will we start a market, we don't have any money."

"We'll get to that later this afternoon. And no need to worry about money. We also need to try and start an inn. Make this a village where travelers will stop."

As Xena pushed off the wall of the barn, she couldn't believe she had said all that. So much for her inner talk earlier of how she needed to stay out of this emotionally. But she couldn't help it. Every time she saw Gabrielle, she wanted to do everything in her power to help her. No matter how hard she tried to ignore, she could feel a shift in her that shook her to the core. Xena, warrior princess, was finally afraid for the first time in years. She was afraid of what all this will lead to.

~~~~~~~~~~_That Afternoon_~~~~~~~~~~

"Again."

Gabrielle struck the tree again, the vibrations from the hit coursing all through her body. She had been hitting the same tree now for 2 hours and she really couldn't see what good it was doing-other then killing her hands. But she continued striking the tree in the places Xena marked off, wanting to prove she could actually do this. Some time must have passed, because as she was about to hit the tree, Xena grabbed the staff. "What was that for? Was I doing it wrong?"

"No, you weren't. I just think you should take a break. You'll thank me later."

As soon as the brunette finished, Gabrielle winced. Now she was defiantly feeling it.

"I know the perfect place to rest that's not too far away. Follow me." the blonde said as she lead the way through the forest. She half expected Xena not to follow, but before she could glance behind her, she saw that the warlord was walking along side her. They walked for a few minutes in silence, their steps falling in sync with each other. Xena breathed in several times, as if she was about to speak, but nothing would ever come out.

Even through her physical pain, the bard was kind of excited to show Xena this certain spot in the forest that they were heading towards now. As the river came into sight, she smiled a small smile as the memories of her early childhood came to mind. It was Xena who finally broke the silence this time. "I thought I heard running water last night.". Gabrielle turned her head to look at Xena, a inquisitive look on her face. "What were you doing out here last night?"

"I was looking for the perfect limb to make your staff. I also wanted a get a sense of the hunting situation in these woods. It would do your whole village good to get more meat."

Gabrielle shook her head and chuckled while she squatted to run her hands through the cooling water of the river. "You really do think of everything. Most people wouldn't think you could do anything more then kill and steal. Where did you learn to hunt and to farm?"

Xena laughed lightly as she took a seat beside Gabrielle "Again with the questions. I already told you, I have many skills."

The blonde wiped her hands on her dress as she sat beside Xena. Gabrielle almost laughed as she thought of the whole situation. It was almost easy for her to forget who Xena really was in moments like this. She couldn't help but feel a strange, yet familiar comfort when she was around her. She wouldn't dare mention this to anyone. They would think she was crazy. Xena brought her out her thoughts.

"They only want what's best for you, you know that, right?"

The blonde looked at the warrior princess and shook her head. "They only want what they think is best for me."

"Sometimes that's for the best though. They just don't want you to get hurt is all. My mother was like that"

Gabrielle tilted her head to the right before cautiously asking, "What was your family like?". She wanted to know about Xena's past more then anything. She held her breath, waiting for Xena to answer. Finally, the warlord began to speak.

"We were happy. I had two brothers, Toris, my older brother, and Lyceus, the youngest. My father left when I was very young, so my mother had a handful between the three of us. But we never went without. And our mother always let us choose out own paths. Sometimes for the worse. But she still loved us, no matter what. She always wanted what was best for us. Sometimes I wish I would have taken her suggestions instead of following my own path"

Gabrielle waited for her to say more, but after a few minutes, she took it upon herself to ask the next question. "Where are they now?"

Xena's eyes hardened and the blonde expected her to snap and tell her to drop it. But surprisingly, she answered. "My mother and Toris are alive and well. Lyceus... Died quite a few years ago. I left shortly after he died... Let's get back to training."

The brunette quickly pushed herself up and helped Gabrielle up. Slowly but surely, the bard was pulling back the layers, desperately searching for what made Xena tick. She needed to know what drove her to this life, and what, if anything, could possibly get her to change. As they walked back to the tree, Gabrielle tried to comfort Xena.

"You know, they say everything happens for a reason."

"I know. I'm just not sure if I quite agree with the bastard who came up with it."

_**Thanks so much for the reviews guys! As usual, please follow/favorite and reviews are also welcome :) You can also PM me if you wish!**_


End file.
